Do I need a 10% deposit?

The general rule is the bigger deposit you can put down, the better. This sounds pretty obvious but there are some important differences between having 10% and 20% deposit.

Firstly, most lenders now require you to have at least a 5% deposit, which must be made up of savings or cash, rather than a loan. But if you can put down a deposit of 10%-20%, this will often get you a lower interest rate on your loan, because there is less risk involved for the lender.

Ideally you should put down a deposit of 20% or more, so that you can avoid paying what's known as 'Lender's Mortgage Insurance' (LMI). This is an insurance policy for the lender against you not paying your mortgage. Although you pay the initial premium, it only covers the lender not you, so the faster you can get to a 20% deposit and avoid paying for it the better for you.

Also, obviously the more you can put down as a deposit, the less you'll have to borrow and therefore the less interest you'll pay over the lifetime of the loan.

Use our Repayments Calculator to see the kind of difference it makes when you have different levels of deposit.